The invention relates to sports utility vehicles and more specifically to a removable support strut for bracing the rear seat of the sports utility vehicle when the seat portion is tilted vertically.
Sports utility vehicles such as the current Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator have an extremely small cargo space behind the rear seat of the vehicles. When the rear seat is in position for receiving passengers, the cargo space is approximately the width of a six pack of soft drinks and it provides very little space for transporting groceries, etc.
The rear seat of these sports utility vehicles are designed so that the back portion of the seat can fold forwardly flat onto the seat portion. Secured to the bottom of the seat portion is a pivot assembly that allows the seat portion to be rotated up into a vertical position. What the automobile manufacturers failed to do was to provide sufficient structure in order to lock the seat portion in its vertical position. The weight of the seat (the seat portion and the back portion) is heavy and if it were to fall backwards onto a child it could cause serious injury to the child. Likewise, it could also damage any stored items, such as groceries or other fragile packages stored in the cargo space.
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel removable support strut that can work in conjunction with existing structure in the floor of the cargo space and also with the pivot assembly secured to the bottom of the seat portion.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel removable support strut that can be quickly and easily installed and removed.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel removable support strut for the foldable vehicle seat of a sports utility vehicle that is lightweight and also compact for storage purposes.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel removable support strut for the foldable seat of a sports utility vehicle that is economical to manufacture and market.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel removable support strut for the foldable seat of a sports utility vehicle that will provide a positive locking structure thereby preventing the seat portion from pivoting rearwardly and injuring either passengers or goods.